New Overnight Parking Fees for Disney World Hotels
Walt Disney World has announced that it will charge hotel guests for overnight parking. Rates will vary by resort tier, with Vale Resorts charging $13/night, Moderate Resorts will be $19/night, and Deluxe Resorts $24/night. Valet parking at Deluxe/Villa resorts will increase to $33/night. Disney Vacation Club guests staying on points or paying cash at Deluxe Villas will not pay for overnight self-parking.
Note that this does not impact free parking for Annual Passholders at the theme parks, nor does it impact those visiting a resort hotel for dinner or shopping. (Although we wouldn’t be surprised to see purchase validation soon required for resort visitors.) Guests staying at campsites in Fort Wilderness will not pay for overnight parking. It’s presently unclear whether drivers with valid disability parking permits will be charged (we’ll update the post later about this once we receive clarification).
The new Walt Disney World parking charge applies to guests who book reservations on or after March 21, 2018. The one positive in this news is that if you book a reservation today or in the next week–even for a trip in December–you won’t be subject to the new parking cost. So that’s at least one way to postpone the sting of this new fee for a little while longer.
Walt Disney World has indicated that this change is to bring their Florida hotels more in line with industry standards. Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels, the Swan & Dolphin, Universal Orlando on-property hotels, and most Orange County Convention Center area-hotels charge for overnight parking.
During our recent stays at the Disney Springs hotels, we noticed pricing around $20/night (+/- $5), which was fairly surprising given the surplus of space. The swamps of Florida are not exactly San Francisco or New York City, where the space is limited and has a high per square foot real estate value.
Known for its “blessing of size,” Walt Disney World fans have long thought that there are certain lines Disney wouldn’t cross, with parking and resort fees being one. We can empathize with the many fans who are frustrated by this, but to them we’d also say that it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is basically a license for Walt Disney World to print money. We’ve said that before, but perhaps it needs to be reiterated. It will draw historic crowds to Florida, many of whom will be first-time visitors or lifelong Star Wars fans willing to pay just about any price to live out childhood dreams. As demand is about to soar, you can expect prices for just about anything at Walt Disney World to increase.
This is particularly true with supply-limited items, such as hotel rooms, parking, and theme park capacity (tickets). Obviously, we’re not fans of paying more to visit Walt Disney World, either, but it’s a reality we all must face.
While we’ve historically been quite averse to Walt Disney World’s various cash-grab up-charge offerings, we’re actually becoming a bit amenable to them, as they represent optional ways to pay more, rather than necessary ones that impact all guests equally.
If Disney management has certain revenue projections that they are attempting to hit (and they certainly do) through a mix of optional and mandatory price increases and upcharges, we prefer the ones we can avoid. This is sort of where we’re at with the parking fee: it makes us cringe, but at the same time, if it’s in lieu of an across the board hotel rate increase of, for example, $10/night, we’ll take it.
Since Walt Disney World operates by the same laws of supply and demand and consumer price sensitivity as every other business, it stands to reason that this fee will impact both future rate increases (slowing them slightly) and guest behavior (pushing more people off-site or causing them to skip rental cars). The latter means a decline in hotel demand–but that will be more than offset by the coming increase in demand once Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opens.
As such, we’re sure there are still significant hotel price increases coming between now and 2020, but minimizing those to the greatest degree possible via optional fees (in other words, not resort fees, which are anti-consumer and really should draw more scrutiny from the FTC) would be our preference.
We’ve written articles (here on page 2 and here) that delve into the current hot economy and its impact on Walt Disney World, so we won’t rehash those here. Suffice to say, record-high consumer confidence and new projects that will be huge guest draws is a perfect storm for higher prices at Walt Disney World.
Interest in those additions is unlikely to subside until well after Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary in 2021, but the same cannot be said for the economy. That cooling off has its own set of negative ramifications for guests, but one silver lining is that it will also cool off Disney’s pricing trends.
Other than that, we don’t really know what else to say about this news of overnight parking fees for Walt Disney World guests. It’s understandably frustrating, especially for long-time fans who have experienced a noticeable shift in policies and practices. While Disney has always been a business, there’s was a time when it felt like a responsible one that tried to balance shareholder interests with guests ones, adding value that was commensurate with added costs. Maybe that was never the case, and maybe it still is.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
What do you think about the new overnight parking fees at Walt Disney World? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
“If Disney management has certain revenue projections that they are attempting to hit (and they certainly do) through a mix of optional and mandatory price increases and upcharges, we prefer the ones we can avoid. This is sort of where we’re at with the parking fee: it makes us cringe, but at the same time, if it’s in lieu of an across the board hotel rate increase of, for example, $10/night, we’ll take it.”
I understand this viewpoint. I wonder, however, if you would feel the same if you didn’t live on the west coast, where it is apparently much more common for hotels to charge for parking, or if you lived close enough to WDW that driving was the most economical way to get there?
In my 20+ years of vacationing (as an adult), I have yet to stay at a hotel outside of a downtown area that charges a nightly fee for parking. (I have no problem with a hotel charging for parking in such an area because the only parking choices are parking garages or continuously paying a meter for on-street parking.)
I must admit, there is a “sliding scale” to my willingness to pay a parking fee. I do resent it when I’m paying almost $300 per night for a “moderate” resort. But I don’t have a problem paying $20 for parking per night when I’m staying a few miles away, in a 2-bedroom suite for only $109/night.
And if “industry standards” is really the reason for this, how about Disney adopting the industry standard of loyalty programs or free breakfast, or some other amenity. It seems Disney will use industry practices for anything to help them, but not when it benefits the guest.
The reason why Disney keeps charging more and more and more and more and more for everything is because people keep paying and paying on whatever Disney decides to charge!!
Stop going to Disney!!!! and we will see price reductions!!
I am in the camp of the unhappy. I save hard to visit see from the UK and really have no choice but to be their at least 10 days to make it worthwhile. I had the pleasure of staying at animal kingdom for three weeks, so now that would cost me over $500 more, prices increasing on everything, perks for staying loyal to see resorts getting reduced further, less magic hours, now this, I’m sure more charges to come. Service levels notcwhat they used to be, it’s all about the bottom line profit. My holiday usually costs around $10,000 so now I’m planning more holidays to different places. Walt would turn in his grave !!!
i have no problem with a company trying to maximize profits – but hotel prices on site already are very inflated already and the trend has done nothing to slow that over the last decade or so. That being said we have always stayed on site except for one visit in the past. There is a more enjoyable experience to me and my familiy when staying at a disney resort.
that being said – i think this parking charge now, is just too much. Seems like the no hotel fees/parking charge was a fair exchange for a bit higher room rate. Now it just feels like they are doing everything in their power to hijack your vacation and keep you under their control. I think it is more that even than the charge. They are making it known that for the time you arrive – they want to be sure they make it as difficult as possible to leave out of their control as possible.
magical express was the first piece, now they have their minnie vans transportation, and by deciding to put in this whole gondola setup for some reason, they need people onsite to want to use that as an option. (i still question how that is going to work out, but will see)
i understand this mindset has been always the case, and I realize that – and was even ok getting why they would want that – but even with a rental car we always spent 90% of our time on property anyway. I just like the freedom of driving myself from the airport and if we have to make a stop we can. If we want a day break from a week trip to go to the outlets or beach or somewhere like that – we can easily. It just with this change, it feels more like they are over-forcing the issue of ‘we own you’, and that is the part now that rubs me at least the wrong way.
for my family that has gone down almost once a year for many years – it is enough of a negative feeling now to want to look into doing something else or spending our time elsewhere in the orlando area and treat disney as a side trip vs the focal point.
I believe you are 100% correct. I too rent a car and we like to take 3 or 4 days out of 14 to do something other than go to a park. We cannot go to a park because we can only get a 10 day pass and we stay at the resort for 14 days. But now I will have to pay nearly $200 for the privilege of parking a car plus the cost of the car – just so I can take a ride with my wife or grandchildren to visit a relative, or go see the ocean or go to eat at Earl at Disney Springs without an interminable wait. Disney’s greed is now if full bloom. I thought it was bad when a basic T-shirt cost $28 instead of reasonable rates so I could take some home to extended family. Now I buy none. Ordinary middle class families are already unable to go. Soon, they will be eliminated for sure. Now I will not likely go at all – or will certainly abbreviate my length of stay. Disney’s greed is sickening.
Hi, I would like some clarification with this topic
Disney Vacation Club guests staying on points or paying cash at Deluxe Villas will not pay for overnight self-parking.
If I stay at Animal Kingdom Jambo on a Standard studio or a value studio reserved with DVC points, do I have to pay the parking fees?
I feel like this is just industry standards…. you have to pay for parking overnight anywhere else you vacation, Southern California, Florida, etc. I honestly thought that wdw already charged guests for overnight parking (we never have a car when we go) and I am super surprised that they don’t require validation for guests parking at the resorts during the day. But maybe I’m just used to something different being from the west coast, that’s just how it is in Disneyland and in hawaii where we tend to vacation more.
“you have to pay for parking overnight anywhere else you vacation”
That depends on where you stay. For example, a few years ago, I visited Washington D.C. I am sure if I had stayed in downtown D.C., I would have had to pay for parking. However, I stayed in Maryland and took the Metro in each day.
As someone who vacations mostly in the middle of the U.S., though, it is not common to have to pay for parking at your hotel, at least if you’re not staying downtown. When you do stay in a downtown area, and the only choice for parking, whether you’re staying in a hotel or just visiting for the day, is to use a parking garage, I totally understand paying to park at a hotel. But this is Disney World, with no shortage of parking spaces.
I’m kind of surprised at all the strong feelings on this! An extra $13-24 per day is nowhere near the straw the breaks the camel’s back for me. I probably spend more than that on popcorn and ice cream for the kiddies at the park.
My attitude to booking a disney trip is to set the total amount I am willing to spend and keep to that budget. Sometimes that means if rooms are more expensive, we book a shorter stay, or avoid weekends when hotel rates and airfare or higher, or fewer table service meals, etc., but we make it work. I’ll keep going to disney as along I can spend a reasonable amount in the aggregate, even if I have to offset a price increase on one item with a cost savings elsewhere.
I also do see the logic in it. They are investing a lot on new resort-to-park transportation (i.e., gondolas, in addition to the existing buses, monorail, and boats) and want to incentivize resort guests to use those methods to get the the parks instead of renting cars and creating huge long lines into the parking lots for the 4 parks when the Galaxy’s Edge crowds arrive. Nobody wants arriving at a park to feel like driving through customs at the border.
I am one of the people with strong feelings about it.
My family usually drives to WDW. We live within an 8-hour drive, and it is usually less expensive to drive than to fly. This is punishing us for living close.
What this has done, in reality, is assure that I will no longer stay on property. In the 20+ years that as an adult I had been going to WDW, I never considered off-site because I always wanted to stay in the Disney bubble. My most recent trip (last week) I stayed on site but drove from the hotel to the park. It was soooo much easier than dealing with busses that I would never use WDW busses if it can be avoided.
Just for fun, I looked up off-site rates yesterday when I heard the news about the parking fees. I was shocked to see how much less-expensive I could have been staying off-property! I’d get more room for less money. And you know, I don’t really mind paying a $20/night parking fee when I’m only paying $109 for a two-bedroom suite.
By your own admission, your “set amount” won’t go as far… not because you’re in a nicer room, but because you have to now cough up money for parking that you never had to pay before. So, perhaps it’s only a snack you give up… this time. If you only spend $x on your trip, that’s getting whittled away by costs that really don’t add any value to your experience. So… understandable why people might not like it.
I’d rather spend that $13-24 a day to park in an empty resort parking lot, and buy some souvenirs as a reminder of a wonderful family vacation.
Also, don’t you think those investments WDW is making might be getting funded by the increase in park tickets, meal plans, and the like?
I Have a issue at this point with the Disney is putting all this money of these upcharges like new parking fees back in to the parks. Disney shareholders since Iger took over have seen over 400 percent increase and igers new 300 million 4 year deal that got voted 52 percent against by shareholders is not even a binding vote! If you look at the corporate strategy that has been ushered in to Disney. The Iger years are geared to increase guest spending to find where the breaking point is. Why do you think the Magic band was made! Because it’s attached to your credit card! They will continue to increase till profits start to fall!
I can see what you’re saying Laila, but I’d rather not spend the extra money on parking for threefold reasons. One, everything else at Disney is also increasing constantly so clearly it is about scamming customers and maximizing profits and many people are fed up. Two, parking is parking. Why is parking more expensive at a more expensive hotel? Does ones car get free washes, tire changes and the like the more one pays? Obviously not, so that’s unfair. Three, they want to entice customers to use their monorails, busses, and gondola on which service is ALREADY slow and crowded, this will make it worse (so less park time essentially). Or you can use their Minnie Vans, which you must pay for.
WDW has become a scam, scam, scam! Walt is doing cartwheels in his grave right now.
I think sandals will get my money now..
I have loved disney like so many others, since I was a child. I visit whenever I can, in fact just recently being retired I moved to the east coast and was planning to get an annual pass to disney. But that has all chage after this announcement. Those fond memories have been replaced with feeling of greed. Shame on you disney! You are pricing so many people out of your parks, I guess Disney can now only be for the wealthy. This is not what Walt had in mind when he created these theme parks. Not that it will matter to Disney because they obviously could care less about losing my business, but I will be purchasing an annual pass to Universal Studio’s instead. It is upsetting because I have loved everything Disney most of my life. But will get over it! I am sure that Universal will be happy to get my business and I will have just as much fun and not take out a mortgage to do it!
I’ve been every year at least once for the last 38 years and now I just feel ripped off. I love Disney and was really wanting to maintain my streak but it’s time for other vacations. It’s really not the same place it once was. I used to love how every store was unique and now every shop has the same exact products.
Completely agree! We are in a similar boat, but despite them making things so uniform and prices climbing, we have continued to go back the last few years because they do a good job (mostly) with their food allergy care. But, there are other options and we are done for a while after our April trip.
Having to pay to park at the Polynesian Resort where my family stays – at Christmas – and paying Disney $780.00 per night for the room – and now they want an additional $24.00 per night to park is beyond greed – sad.
I am so disappointed I have to find another place to spend my discretionary income. I know this was a long time coming. My wife and I have been there every year since we retired 8 years ago and have probably been there 35 times total. We have paid more and more every year and we knew it was only a matter of time before we would be priced out of going there. Oh well… How much are all inclusives?
if you can find reasonable airfare, we’ve found all inclusives to be very affordable in Jamaica!
This is discouraging and must be upsetting for people finally pushed to the limit- financially or otherwise- with regards to WDW.
For me, this one change won’t stop me from going back & staying onsite. We fly and never use a car, but more importantly, we only go every three years or so, and just for a few nights. So generally, I view the whole trip as a splurge and I justify the exorbitant pricing with the ability to totally switch-off and be immersed in the experience.
However . . . this does give me second thoughts about enthusiastically recommending Disney to others; insisting that onsite is the way to go; defending Disney when people claim it’s a total rip-off; and so on.
I’m the go-to person for Disney planning advice among family, friends, etc. With the constant price increases and new surcharges, combined with a decline in certain aspects of the Disney experience (large crowds year-round, ride breakdowns, lower maintenance/cleaning standards, uninspired resort refurbishments, etc), I hesitate to encourage others to shell out the $$ and vacation time necessary for WDW. Especially when I know they don’t have the deep-rooted, multifaceted appreciation of Disney that I do.
And even I’ll reach my limit, eventually, if this trend continues.
Same. Not the breaking point… yet. Though, that is due in part to the fact that we fly in and take ME. I have little doubt that a charge for ME will follow along shortly.
I find some comments amusing. My wife and I are retired, normally go to DisneyWorld for 2 weeks and rent a car. The idea that Disney is so money hungry that is now wants to charge for parking is an obscenity and a slap in the face to the good people who visit every year and pay their hard earned money to stay at whatever resort they can afford to stay at. In case nobody noticed, Disney has been charging more and more and more for everything for the last several years. Will it affect my plans for visiting? Absolutely it will. Why? Because I don’t like feeling used and cheated and taken advantage of. I like DisneyWorld – but there is a limit. Apparently Disney does not understand that.
In case you didn’t notice Disney has been raising prices on everything yearly since they opened. So has every other business. It’s how they make money.
Let me start by saying this will not stop me from visiting. We already fly and use Disney transit. But for all the people blowing up about this rate increase – if it’s such a big deal STOP GIVING DISNEY YOUR MONEY. For every 100 people on here complaining I’d bet 95 of them will still go to Disney regularly.
I’m sick of hearing people complain that whatever the latest price hike is will stop their family from visiting 7 times a year and spending over 60 days at wdw. If another 200 for parking for a week is a deal breaker you need to re evaluate your financial choices. You probably shouldn’t be spending 60 days at wdw in the first place. And if you’re really that fired up stop going. Nothing will change until they see a hit on their bottom line.
Although, I have booked my trip in advance, I find this very disappointing. Disney seems to be trying to squeeze every last dollar out of the very people that have made this business ( I do mean Business) very profitable. Why not raise rates on guest that visit daily. That is were the crowds are coming from.Don’t penalize the guest that are already paying high prices for hotel rooms ?
Raising rates for day visit guests would drive down business from day visitors. If you’re staying on site with a car you really have no choice, you’re stuck. Sure people can stay elsewhere but I guarantee they will still pack their hotels. Nothing will change until enough people stop going, and I’m always amazed how many people can afford to go as often as they do. There are always people with money, or at least people that overspend and don’t save.
“Walt Disney World has indicated that this change is to bring their Florida hotels more in line with industry standards.”
Great news Disney! Does this mean you will adjust your deluxe and moderate resort prices down to the price average of “industry standards”? Or maybe offering free breakfast? Or hotel points to be used toward future stays? Those are industry standards for large parts of the industry as well!
Touche
My sentiments exactly.
Awesome reply! Now how can we get this into the ears of a Disney rep?
Fantastic response!
Well said!
“This is sort of where we’re at with the parking fee: it makes us cringe, but at the same time, if it’s in lieu of an across the board hotel rate increase of, for example, $10/night, we’ll take it.”
I hope you’re right, though my guess is that it will not have any effect on Disney’s annual above-the-rate-of-inflation price increases on hotel rooms. We’ll probably get the parking fee and the annual hotel room price increase.
They already raised the hotel fees this year. They raised them $15-20/night at the end of Feb. They usually don’t raise rates once they come out in June but they did this year. So Tom is already wrong on the parking fees being in lieu of raising room rates. I am sure when the rates for 2019 come out they will be even higher. So much for parking fees instead of room rate increases. We just got both within a month of each other. Lucky for me I booked my Dec trip before all the new rates came out. It will be my last trip for a long, long time.
Am I the only one not ticked off about this? I guess its because I don’t bring my car to Disney World. I think this is Disney’s way to lesson crowds at the resorts, but they know tons of people will still come and pay that $$.
They don’t want to reduce the crowds at the Resorts. They want to maximize profits as much as possible and they are anticipating even larger crowds once Stars Wars opens.
Thank you Will. You hit the nail on the head. I don’t understand all the people who think this is to lessen crowds at the resorts or parks. It is greed. Pure and simple.
I’m 37 and went to Disney World for the first time in December 2016. I took my husband and my 7 and 9 year old daughters. We paid full price for Disney hotel and dining plan. We did get a special four park four day offer for I think $80 pppd. We ate at character dinners and didn’t waste any snack credits. We were at the parks from open to close. I didn’t want to miss a thing. I am obsessed with saving money and using coupons to get things for free but for this trip I just wanted to go and didn’t worry too much about not saving money on our hotel because we got free Magical Express transportation. Everything seemed so easy and I was willing to pay for convenience. In October 2017 my husband and I went back by ourselves and stayed 2 nights onsite with no discount 3 day ticket and no discount 2 night dining. We had free Magical Express there. But then spent the next 2 nights off site at a chain hotel then took an Uber back to the airport. It was also very easy. Hotel parking rates will not effect me since we have yet to have our own vehicle on site. I agree with Tom that I appreciate fees I can avoid. With all that said we also took a 5 night Royal Caribbean cruise that offered kids cruise free this past December. We booked a guaranteed interior room, cheapest available, and only paid $950 for the four of us…food included, entertainment included, housekeeping included. We would gladly take another cruise at that rate for 5 days than pay $3500+ for another Disney trip. Thank you for this blog. I love it and my husband admires your photography. He would like for you to issue photography challenges.